Pounds That Kill: The External Costs of Vehicle Weight

Abstract

Heavier vehicles are safer for their own occupants but more hazardous for other vehicles. Simple theory thus suggests that an unregulated vehicle fleet is inefficiently heavy. Using three separate identification strategies we show that, controlling for own-vehicle weight, being hit by a vehicle that is 1,000 pounds heavier generates a 40-50% increase in fatality risk. These results imply a total accident-related externality that exceeds the estimated social cost of U.S. carbon emissions and is equivalent to a gas tax of $0.97 per gallon ($136 billion annually). We consider two policies for internalizing this external cost, a weightvarying mileage tax and a gas tax, and find that they are similar for most vehicles. The findings suggest that European gas taxes may be much closer to optimal levels than the U.S. gas tax.

Strain-controlled low cycle fatigue properties of a rare-earth containing ZEK100 magnesium alloy

“…As seen from Fig.6, ϕ 1 direction is along the horizontal axis whereas Φ direction lays in the vertical axis. Based on the Euler angles the texture intensity was much lower in the ZEK100 alloy than in the RE-free Mg alloys, e.g., 8.5~8.9 MRD in the AM30 alloy [57]. This observation supported the suggestion of texture weakening when RE elements were added in Mg alloys.…”

Environmental Policy and Vehicle Safety: The Impact of Gasoline Taxes

“…Some authors have found evidence that SUVs are particularly harmful to occupants of ordinary cars (Anderson and Auffhammer 2011;White 2004), but these studies used data on accidents from earlier years than those in the current study. Some authors have found evidence that SUVs are particularly harmful to occupants of ordinary cars (Anderson and Auffhammer 2011;White 2004), but these studies used data on accidents from earlier years than those in the current study.…”

“…Policy emphasis has thus centered on whether a gasoline tax could accomplish much the same end since heavier vehicles use more gasoline per mile traveled and would thus pay a higher per mile tax rate (Anderson and Auffhammer 2011). Policy emphasis has thus centered on whether a gasoline tax could accomplish much the same end since heavier vehicles use more gasoline per mile traveled and would thus pay a higher per mile tax rate (Anderson and Auffhammer 2011).…”

“…Anderson and Auffhammer (2011) provide estimates of the appropriate level of gasoline taxation to account for safety externalities, but do not model consumer responses to these taxes or estimate the impacts of such taxes on safety outcomes. Anderson and Auffhammer (2011) provide estimates of the appropriate level of gasoline taxation to account for safety externalities, but do not model consumer responses to these taxes or estimate the impacts of such taxes on safety outcomes.…”

An Assessment of the Energy-Efficiency Gap and its Implications for Climate-Change Policy

“…per ton (Parry, Walls, and Harrington 2007, 377), while other analyses of the combined costs of local pollution, congestion, and accident externalities have arrived at estimates as high as $2.40 per gallon (M. L. Anderson and Auffhammer 2013;Parry, Walls, and Harrington 2007).…”